The Primal Kitchen Podcast

People frequently wax sentimental for what they call “simpler” days—presumably times when the rules were fewer and clearer, when choices weren’t so overwhelming, when demands were less and common sense was more prevalent. Eating, of course, is no exception to this. If you listen to the dominant voices in the social-media-marketing-medical culture, it’s enough to ruin your dinner and make you feel guilty for skipping breakfast (Don’t buy the guilt trip). We’re fed contradictory studies, warned of the latest threats lurking in our food supply, told every bite squashes the life out of another ecosystem, and led through fluorescent-lit warehouses filled with more food options and label claims than one person should ever be reasonably expected to handle. It’s exhausting, frustrating and on certain days defeating. So what’s a reasonable approach in an age when anxiety too often overtakes enjoyment of eating?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept292016-7WaysToDealWithFoodAnxiety.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

How much of each type of fat should we be eating?

How should we balance our fat intake between the various types?

What’s the optimal dietary fatty acid ratio, Sisson? Include decimals if you can.

There’s no single right answer. It—sorry, folks—depends on a lot of factors.

It depends on your goals, your activity levels, the rest of your diet, your genetics. Almost everything, to be honest.
But there’s one universal factor determining an optimal fat balance that everyone needs to get right: their mitochondria.

That’s what we’ll be discussing today.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept282016-HowShouldYouBalanceYourFatIntake.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Just because conventional wisdom got animal flesh wrong doesn’t mean there aren’t better and worse ways to eat it.

Just as I’d say with any otherwise healthy food—cheese, almonds, broccoli, spinach, eggs, sweet potatoes—there are limits to healthy consumption. You shouldn’t eat unlimited amounts of anything. There are always downsides.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept272016-10WaysToOptimizeYourMeatConsumption.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Jean-Paul Sartre in one of his famous plays said, “Hell is—other people.” I think most of us might sympathize with that claim depending on the day and the person we’re dealing with. On the flip side, people can be the source of our greatest joys. His sentiment, regardless, speaks to the strong impact others can have on us. Whether we like it or not, we all live (and need to live) in some relation to others. None of us exist in a vacuum, and research on extreme isolation suggests the real hell on earth might be exactly that. So make no mistake—how people make us feel is not just the stuff of poetry and philosophy. Other people can and do influence our immediate physiology as well as our ongoing health. What does this process look like though? How does it play out in our lives? Let’s examine a few examples.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept222016-4SuprisingWaysOtherPeopleAffectYourHealth-.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:19am PDT

The growth of the Primal movement has not gone unnoticed. Food producers have latched on because, as much as we emphasize foraging the perimeter of the grocery store—the produce, the meats, the bulk goods—and eschewing processed foods, we remain creatures of convenience. Not everyone has the time or inclination to personally prepare every single morsel that enters their mouths. Sometimes we just need something quick and easy to snack on. And the food industry has risen to the occasion, offering ostensibly healthy Primal-friendly snack foods.

But are they really healthy?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept212016-How_to_Snack_Responsibly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

While weight loss has the power to shift one’s entire health trajectory (not to mention life experience) may also be the most likely to come with unforeseen, even undesired results. I’m talking particularly about those who undergo dramatic transformations—the kind that can leave them feeling incredible, enjoying vitality, and (in particular) looking substantially different.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept152016-HowToAcceptYourBodyAfterSignificantWeightLoss.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

By now, you’ve no doubt heard of CRISPR, the latest gene-editing tool sweeping research labs across the globe. It was first discovered in certain strains of bacteria, who use it as an important weapon against dangerous viruses. In bacteria, CRISPR identifies a virus that poses a threat, records the virus’ genetic data and imprints it onto RNA molecules. An immune enzyme called Cas9 grabs one of the RNA molecules and goes exploring. When Cas9 encounters a virus that matches the data on the RNA molecule, it latches on and slices the virus in half to prevent it from replicating and posing any threat.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept142016-CRISPR.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Ann Green is the founder and director of BLiSS Ann Green Yoga, a waterfront wellness studio in Barrie, ON, and the owner of SHiNE OM Yoga Teacher Education. Ann has over 25 years of movement expertise cross pollinating athletics, yoga, manual body care and pain management and holds a Masters in Exercise Science, a Bachelor of Education, a Bachelor of Psychology and Physical and Health Education and 500 E-RYT.

Ann can always be found out in nature or on the water, doing SUP Yoga. Ann is licensee of Surfset Fitness Canada, a licensee and Director of Surfset Yoga, and also runs Canada’s first float yoga studio.

Direct download: Ep_135_PrimalBlueprint_AnnGreen1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55am PDT

A few weeks back, I explored the potential benefits using fat as your primary fuel can have on cognitive function. While the strongest research centers on people dealing with age-related cognitive decline and other neurodegenerative diseases, and whether burning fat and ketones can boost cognitive function in healthy adults remains unconfirmed, the totality of the evidence suggests it can provide a benefit. Today, I’ll be discussing a related topic with more solid scientific footing: the effects of fat-adaptation on athletic performance.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept132016-HowUsingFatForFuelCanBoostAthleticPerformance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:41pm PDT

Acute pain can usually be trusted. Chronic pain is trickier. There may have been initial tissue damage, but instead of decreasing the pain as the damage healed, it increased: chronic pain usually gets worse, not better.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sept062016-HowToDealWithChronicPain.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Cancer survivors Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly offer the first comprehensive ketogenic cookbook based on the most exciting new research on nutritional approaches to the prevention and management of cancer, The Ketogenic Kitchen.

For decades, the ketogenic diet―which shifts the body’s metabolism from burning glucose to burning fat, lowering blood sugar and insulin and resulting in a metabolic state known as ketosis―has been used to successfully manage pediatric epilepsy. More recently, it has been used by the Paleo community as a weight loss strategy. Now emerging research suggests that a ketogenic diet, in conjunction with conventional treatments, also offers new hope for those coping with cancer and other serious diseases.

With endorsements from leading researchers and oncologists such as Dr. Thomas Seyfried (Cancer as a Metabolic Disease), The Ketogenic Kitchen offers more than 250 recipes, as well as meal plans and comprehensive scientific information about the benefits of a ketogenic diet.

Direct download: Ep134_PrimalBlueprint_DominiKempPatriciaDaly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55am PDT

Today, by comparison, we have at least peripheral contact with sometimes hundreds of people on a daily basis.

We’re part of larger social groups, neighborhoods, families, social media cliques and work groups that, unlike the Paleolithic model, rarely overlap. We may not spend all day with these people hunting and dressing a kill, but we field countless micro-demands (e.g. favors, questions, invitations, feedback, etc.) from them in addition to more substantial requests and responsibilities.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Direct download: MDA-Sep012016-TheDangersOfPeoplePleasingInTheModernWorld.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

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